


Empty Halls, Silent Walls

by Aerlind



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4068202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerlind/pseuds/Aerlind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andreth and Aegnor in the Halls of Waiting. Kind of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empty Halls, Silent Walls

What he remembers is smoke. Suffocating smoke painted red with flames. There is little joy in such memories. Yet he remembers them vividly, remembers how they feel upon his skin, remembers how the blood is drained out of him, how everything blurs. And there is regret.

_Pretty she was, like a flower is to its viewer._

A deep, devastating regret. And it numbs him. For—

_Briefly he saw her, briefly talked, way too little._

–what can he do anymore? He is dead. Away from her reach.

_Never to see, never to hear, never to hold._

A groan leaves the Elf. He knows very well that he would have had to witness more misery, even if not claimed by death yet. He can hear the war cries in his ears still. Feel the trembling earth, and see—

_Dark hair like the forest floor of autumn, eyes a pool of grey, face fair as if she be an Elf._

–the darkness engulf the slopes he stood on, the destruction yet to come to loom ominously in the air, the fire–! Aegnor closes his eyes. Too long has his mind replayed this memory. Too long has he let it do so. Too long has he stayed here, watching the tapestry woven by the Weaver, Gwîr.  

_But she is gone, out of reach._

The tapestry tells what has happened. And he has seen his sister, Galadriel, to be safe. He has seen his brother, Finrod, visit the House of Bëor during the siege. Yes, now he has seen it, now when it is too late.

_Never to see, never to hear, never to hold._

Adaneth, that his brother called her. Human woman. Andreth, that is what he called her.  _Alassenya_  [my joy], that is what he called her, though she understood not.

Finally Aegnor makes to move. The Halls of Waiting are beautiful, yet they are silent. They are silent and empty to him, though others might claim otherwise. He cannot move on, not even if the Valar would decide so. The Halls of Waiting the halls are called, and that is what he will do. He will wait. For her.

~

It is not him, who she seeks. She does not think, does not expect, does not assume it to be possible, for him to still linger here. Yet—

“ _Saelind!_ ”

–she knows that voice, she knows its owner, she knows, she knows, she knows. Saelind. Wise-heart. Andreth stares. For it cannot be. The blonde hair cannot be true, the round eyes cannot stare at her, the Elf cannot still be here.

“ _Alassenya_!”

Andreth does not know how to react, she cannot move, she cannot breath, and then there are strong arms around her, strong arms to embrace her, to hug so tight her bones might break. Her nose so close to him that she can feel his warmth, remember the scent which she long time ago threw away. And she remembers the King’s words.

_Adaneth_ _, I tell thee, he loved thee. For thy sake now he will never take the hand of any bride of his own kindred, but live alone to the end, remembering the morning in the hills of Dorthonion._

She cannot hear the words muttered, something about blessings and Valar and the Weaver—

_If his heart ruled, he would have wished to take thee and flee far away, east or south, forsaking his kin and thine._

–Andreth looks to Aegnor, she cannot understand, why is he still here, she cannot share his fate, she knows that, it is futile, why—

“ _Alassenya_ , my Andreth, I love you. I want you to know that. I love you. I know you doubted, I know—“

It is only one single gesture that silences Aegnor, a hand blocking his mouth, and a gentle look from Andreth.

“I know.”

It is the only answer he gets. And then, he is embraced back.

“Your brother made sure that I doubt you not,” says Andreth after a long time. “And therefore my heart wished not to marry or have merry with any other. If it could not be you, then it could not be anyone.”

And those words bring a smile to her loved one’s face, a smile full of joy, and she smiles back.

“Merriment. My merriment, my joy. That is what  _Alassenya_  means. That is the name I gave you, my dearest,” Aegnor says, and it seems that Andreth is happy to finally know of her secret name.

Finally, they can be together. Finally, they can take joy in each other’s presence.  Even if they do not know how everything will end: for the fact is that Aegnor is an Elf, and Andreth a human.

And their fates are different from each other.


End file.
